Peterson，thenew—comer，whisperedsatiricallyinFerguson’sear:
\"Wonderfulperformancetofindthisplace，wasn’tit？Hardlyworthwhiletocomesofar，though;anyothersupposititiousplacewouldhaveansweredjustaswell——hey？\"
Fergusonwasnotpleasedwiththeinnuendo。Hesaid，withsomewarmth:
\"Doyoumeantoinsinuatethatthechildhasn’tbeenhere？Itellyouthechildhasbeenhere！Nowifyouwanttogetyourselfintoastidyalittlefussas——\"
\"Allright！\"sangoutStillman。\"Come，everybody，andlookatthis！Itwasrightunderournosesallthetime，andwedidn’tseeit。\"
Therewasageneralplungeforthegroundattheplacewherethechildwasallegedtohaverested，andmanyeyestriedhardandhopefullytoseethethingthatArchy’sfingerwasrestingupon。Therewasapause，thenaseveral—barreledsighofdisappointment。PatRileyandHamSandwichsaid，intheonebreath:
\"Whatisit，Archy？There’snothinghere。\"
\"Nothing？Doyoucallthatnothing？\"andheswiftlytraceduponthegroundaformwithhisfinger。\"There——don’tyourecognizeitnow？It’sInjunBilly’strack。He’sgotthechild。\"
\"Godbepraised！\"fromthemother。
\"Takeawaythelantern。I’vegotthedirection。Follow！\"
Hestartedonarun，racinginandoutamongthesage—bushesamatterofthreehundredyards，anddisappearedoverasand—wave;theothersstruggledafterhim，caughthimup，andfoundhimwaiting。Tenstepsawaywasalittlewickiup，adimandformlessshelterofragsandoldhorse—blankets，adulllightshowingthroughitschinks。
\"Youlead，Mrs。Hogan，\"saidthelad。\"It’syourprivilegetobefirst。\"
Allfollowedthesprintshemadeforthewickiup，andsaw，withher，thepictureitsinteriorafforded。InjunBillywassittingontheground;
thechildwasasleepbesidehim。Themotherhuggeditwithawildembrace，whichincludedArchyStillman，thegratefultearsrunningdownherface，andinachokedandbrokenvoiceshepouredoutagoldenstreamofthatwealthofworshipingendearmentswhichhasitshomeinfullrichnessnowherebutintheIrishheart。
\"Ifindherbymebyitisteno’clock，\"Billyexplained。\"She’sleepoutyonder，ve’ytired——facewet，beencryin’，’spose;fetchherhome，feedher，sheheapmuchhungry——go’sleep’gin。\"
Inherlimitlessgratitudethehappymotherwaivedrankandhuggedhimtoo，callinghim\"theangelofGodindisguise。\"Andheprobablywasindisguiseifhewasthatkindofanofficial。Hewasdressedforthecharacter。
Athalfpastoneinthemorningtheprocessionburstintothevillagesinging，\"WhenJohnnyComesMarchingHome，\"wavingitslanternsandswallowingthedrinksthatwerebroughtoutallalongitscourse。Itconcentratedatthetavern，andmadeanightofwhatwasleftofthemorning。
PARTII
I
Thenextafternoonthevillagewaselectrifiedwithanimmensesensation。
Agraveanddignifiedforeignerofdistinguishedbearingandappearancehadarrivedatthetavern，andenteredthisformidablenameupontheregister:
SHERLOCKHOLMES
Thenewsbuzzedfromcabintocabin，fromclaimtoclaim;toolsweredropped，andthetownswarmedtowardthecenterofinterest。AmanpassingoutatthenorthernendofthevillageshoutedittoPatRiley，whoseclaimwasthenextonetoFlintBuckner’s。AtthattimeFetlockJonesseemedtoturnsick。Hemutteredtohimself:
\"UncleSherlock！Themeanluckofit！——thatheshouldcomejustwhen……\"
Hedroppedintoareverie，andpresentlysaidtohimself:\"Butwhat’stheuseofbeingafraidofhim？AnybodythatknowshimthewayIdoknowshecan’tdetectacrimeexceptwhereheplansitalloutbeforehandandarrangesthecluesandhiressomefellowtocommititaccordingtoinstructions……Nowthereain’tgoingtobeanycluesthistime——so，whatshowhashegot？Noneatall。No，sir;everything’sready。IfI
wastoriskputtingitoff——No，Iwon’trunanyrisklikethat。FlintBucknergoesoutofthisworldto—night，forsure。\"Thenanothertroublepresenteditself。\"UncleSherlock’llbewantingtotalkhomematterswithmethisevening，andhowamIgoingtogetridofhim？forI’vegottobeatmycabinaminuteortwoabouteighto’clock。\"Thiswasanawkwardmatter，andcosthimmuchthought。Buthefoundawaytobeatthedifficulty。\"We’llgoforawalk，andI’llleavehimintheroadaminute，sothathewon’tseewhatitisIdo:thebestwaytothrowadetectiveoffthetrack，anyway，istohavehimalongwhenyouarepreparingthething。Yes，that’sthesafest——I’lltakehimwithme。\"
Meantimetheroadinfrontofthetavernwasblockedwithvillagerswaitingandhopingforaglimpseofthegreatman。Buthekepthisroom，anddidnotappear。NonebutFerguson，JakeParkertheblacksmith，andHamSandwichhadanyluck。Theseenthusiasticadmirersofthegreatscientificdetectivehiredthetavern’sdetained—baggagelockup，whichlookedintothedetective’sroomacrossalittlealleywaytenortwelvefeetwide，ambushedthemselvesinit，andcutsomepeep—holesinthewindow—blind。Mr。Holmes’sblindsweredown;butbyandbyheraisedthem。Itgavethespiesahair—liftingbutpleasurablethrilltofindthemselvesfacetofacewiththeExtraordinaryManwhohadfilledtheworldwiththefameofhismorethanhumaningenuities。Therehesat——notamyth，notashadow，butreal，alive，compactofsubstance，andalmostwithintouchingdistancewiththehand。
\"Lookatthathead！\"saidFerguson，inanawedvoice。\"Bygracious！
that’sahead！\"
\"Youbet！\"saidtheblacksmith，withdeepreverence。\"Lookathisnose！
lookathiseyes！Intellect？Justabatteryofit！\"
\"Andthatpaleness，\"saidHamSandwich。\"Comesfromthought——that’swhatitcomesfrom。Hell！dufferslikeusdon’tknowwhatrealthoughtis。\"
\"Nomorewedon’t，\"saidFerguson。\"Whatwetakeforthinkingisjustblubber—and—slush。\"
\"Rightyouare，Wells—Fargo。Andlookatthatfrown——that’sdeepthinking——awaydown，down，fortyfathomintothebowelsofthings。He’sonthetrackofsomething。\"
\"Well，heis，anddon’tyouforgetit。Say——lookatthatawfulgravity——
lookatthatpallidsolemness——thereain’tanycorpsecanlayoverit。\"
\"No，sir，notfordollars！Andit’shis’nbyhereditaryrights，too;
he’sbeendeadfourtimesa’ready，andthere’shistoryforit。Threetimesnatural，oncebyaccident。I’veheardsayhesmellsdampandcold，likeagrave。Andhe——\"
\"’Sh！Watchhim！There——he’sgothisthumbonthebumponthenearcornerofhisforehead，andhisforefingerontheoffone。Histhink—
worksisjusta—grindingnow，youbetyourothershirt。\"
\"That’sso。Andnowhe’sgazinguptowardheavenandstrokinghismustacheslow，and——\"
\"Nowhehasroseupstanding，andisputtinghiscluestogetheronhisleftfingerswithhisrightfinger。See？hetouchestheforefinger——nowmiddlefinger——nowring—finger——\"
\"Stuck！\"
\"Lookathimscowl！Hecan’tseemtomakeoutthatclue。Sohe——\"
\"Seehimsmile！——likeatiger——andtallyofftheotherfingerslikenothing！He’sgotit，boys;he’sgotitsure！\"
\"Well，Ishouldsay！I’dhatetobeinthatman’splacethathe’safter。\"
Mr。Holmesdrewatabletothewindow，satdownwithhisbacktothespies，andproceededtowrite。Thespieswithdrewtheireyesfromthepeep—holes，littheirpipes，andsettledthemselvesforacomfortablesmokeandtalk。Fergusonsaid，withconviction:
\"Boys，it’snousetalking，he’sawonder！He’sgotthesignsofitalloverhim。\"
\"Youhain’teversaidatruerwordthanthat，Wells—Fargo，\"saidJakeParker。\"Say，wouldn’tit’a’beennutsifhe’da—beenherelastnight？\"
\"Oh，byGeorge，butwouldn’tit！\"saidFerguson。\"Thenwe’dhaveseenscientificwork。Intellect——justpureintellect——awayupontheupperlevels，dontchuknow。Archyisallright，anditdon’tbecomeanybodytobelittlehim，Icantellyou。Buthisgiftisonlyjusteyesight，sharpasanowl’s，asnearasIcanmakeitoutjustagrandnaturalanimaltalent，nomore，noless，andprimeasfarasitgoes，butnointellectinit，andforawfulnessandmarvelousnessnomoretobecomparedtowhatthismandoesthan——than——Why，letmetellyouwhathe’dhavedone。He’dhavesteppedovertoHogan’sandglanced——justglanced，that’sall——atthepremises，andthat’senough。Seeeverything？Yes，sir，tothelastlittledetail;andhe’llknowmoreaboutthatplacethantheHoganswouldknowinsevenyears。Next，hewouldsitdownonthebunk，justasca’m，andsaytoMrs。Hogan——Say，Ham，considerthatyouareMrs。Hogan。I’llaskthequestions;youanswerthem。\"
\"Allright;goon。\"
\"’Madam，ifyouplease——attention——donotletyourmindwander。Now，then——sexofthechild？’
\"’Female，yourHonor。’
\"’Um——female。Verygood，verygood。Age？’
\"’Turnedsix，yourHonor。’
\"’Um——young，weak——twomiles。Wearinesswillovertakeitthen。Itwillsinkdownandsleep。Weshallfindittwomilesaway，orless。Teeth？’
\"’Five，yourHonor，andonea—coming。’
\"’Verygood，verygood，verygood，indeed。’Yousee，boys，heknowsacluewhenheseesit，whenitwouldn’tmeanadernthingtoanybodyelse。
’Stockings，madam？Shoes？’
\"’Yes，yourHonor——both。’
\"’Yarn，perhaps？Morocco？’
\"’Yarn，yourHonor。Andkip。’
\"’Um——kip。Thiscomplicatesthematter。However，letitgo——weshallmanage。Religion？’
\"’Catholic，yourHonor。’
\"’Verygood。Snipmeabitfromthebedblanket，please。Ah，thanks。
Partwool——foreignmake。Verywell。Asnipfromsomegarmentofthechild’s，please。Thanks。Cotton。Showswear。Anexcellentclue，excellent。Passmeapalletofthefloordirt，ifyou’llbesokind。
Thanks，manythanks。Ah，admirable，admirable！Nowweknowwhereweare，Ithink。’Yousee，boys，he’sgotalltheclueshewantsnow;hedon’tneedanythingmore。Now，then，whatdoesthisExtraordinaryMando？Helaysthosesnipsandthatdirtoutonthetableandleansoverthemonhiselbows，andputsthemtogethersidebysideandstudiesthem——mumblestohimself，’Female’;changesthemaround——mumbles，’Sixyearsold’;changesthemthiswayandthat——againmumbles:’Fiveteeth——onea—
coming——Catholic——yarn——cotton——kip——damnthatkip。’Thenhestraightensupandgazestowardheaven，andplowshishandsthroughhishair——plowsandplows，muttering，’Damnthatkip！’Thenhestandsupandfrowns，andbeginstotallyoffhiscluesonhisfingers——andgetsstuckatthering—
finger。Butonlyjustaminute——thenhisfaceglaresallupinasmilelikeahouseafire，andhestraightensupstatelyandmajestic，andsaystothecrowd，’Takealantern，acoupleofyou，andgodowntoInjunBilly’sandfetchthechild——therestofyougo’longhometobed;good—
night，madam;good—night，gents。’AndhebowsliketheMatterhorn，andpullsoutforthetavern。That’shisstyle，andtheOnly——scientific，intellectual——alloverinfifteenminutes——nopokingaroundalloverthesage—brushrangeanhourandahalfinamass—meetingcrowdforhim，boys——youhearme！\"
\"ByJackson，it’sgrand！\"saidHamSandwich。\"Wells—Fargo，you’vegothimdowntoadot。Heain’tpaintedupanyexactertothelifeinthebooks。ByGeorge，Icanjustseehim——can’tyou，boys？\"
\"Youbetyou！It’sjustaphotograft，that’swhatitis。\"
Fergusonwasprofoundlypleasedwithhissuccess，andgrateful。Hesatsilentlyenjoyinghishappinessalittlewhile，thenhemurmured，withadeepaweinhisvoice，\"IwonderifGodmadehim？\"
Therewasnoresponseforamoment;thenHamSandwichsaid，reverently:
\"Notallatonetime，Ireckon。\"
VII
Ateighto’clockthateveningtwopersonsweregropingtheirwaypastFlintBuckner’scabininthefrostygloom。TheywereSherlockHolmesandhisnephew。
\"Stophereintheroadamoment，uncle，\"saidFetlock，\"whileIruntomycabin;Iwon’tbegoneaminute。\"
Heaskedforsomething——theunclefurnishedit——thenhedisappearedinthedarkness，butsoonreturned，andthetalking—walkwasresumed。Bynineo’clocktheyhadwanderedbacktothetavern。Theyworkedtheirwaythroughthebilliard—room，whereacrowdhadgatheredinthehopeofgettingaglimpseoftheExtraordinaryMan。Aroyalcheerwasraised。
Mr。Holmesacknowledgedthecomplimentwithaseriesofcourtlybows，andashewaspassingouthisnephewsaidtotheassemblage:
\"UncleSherlock’sgotsomeworktodo，gentlemen，that’llkeephimtilltwelveorone;buthe’llbedownagainthen，orearlierifhecan，andhopessomeofyou’llbelefttotakeadrinkwithhim。\"
\"ByGeorge，he’sjustaduke，boys！ThreecheersforSherlockHolmes，thegreatestmanthateverlived！\"shoutedFerguson。\"Hip，hip，hip——\"
\"Hurrah！hurrah！hurrah！Tiger！\"
Theuproarshookthebuilding，soheartywasthefeelingtheboysputintotheirwelcome。Up—stairstheunclereproachedthenephewgently，saying:
\"Whatdidyougetmeintothatengagementfor？\"
\"Ireckonyoudon’twanttobeunpopular，doyou，uncle？Well，then，don’tyouputonanyexclusivenessinamining—camp，that’sall。Theboysadmireyou;butifyouwastoleavewithouttakingadrinkwiththem，they’dsetyoudownforasnob。Andbesides，yousaidyouhadhometalkenoughinstocktokeepusupandatithalfthenight。\"
Theboywasright，andwise——theuncleacknowledgedit。Theboywaswiseinanotherdetailwhichhedidnotmention——excepttohimself:\"Uncleandtheotherswillcomehandy——inthewayofnailinganalibiwhereitcan’tbebudged。\"
Heandhisuncletalkeddiligentlyaboutthreehours。Then，aboutmidnight，Fetlocksteppeddown—stairsandtookapositioninthedarkadozenstepsfromthetavern，andwaited。FiveminuteslaterFlintBucknercamerockingoutofthebilliard—roomandalmostbrushedhimashepassed。
\"I’vegothim！\"mutteredtheboy。Hecontinuedtohimself，lookingaftertheshadowyform:\"Good—by——good—byforgood，FlintBuckner;youcalledmymothera——well，nevermindwhat:it’sallright，now;you’retakingyourlastwalk，friend。\"
Hewentmusingbackintothetavern。\"Fromnowtilloneisanhour。
We’llspenditwiththeboys;it’sgoodforthealibi。\"
HebroughtSherlockHolmestothebilliard—room，whichwasjammedwitheagerandadmiringminers;theguestcalledthedrinks，andthefunbegan。Everybodywashappy;everybodywascomplimentary;theicewassoonbroken，songs，anecdotes，andmoredrinksfollowed，andthepregnantminutesflew。Atsixminutestoone，whenthejollitywasatitshighest——
BOOM！！
Therewassilenceinstantly。Thedeepsoundcamerollingandrumblingfrownpeaktopeakupthegorge，thendieddown，andceased。Thespellbroke，then，andthemenmadearushforthedoor，saying:
\"Something’sblownup！\"
Outside，avoiceinthedarknesssaid，\"It’sawaydownthegorge;Isawtheflash。\"
Thecrowdpoureddownthecanyon——Holmes，Fetlock，ArchyStillman，everybody。Theymadethemileinafewminutes。BythelightofalanterntheyfoundthesmoothandsoliddirtfloorofFlintBuckner’scabin;ofthecabinitselfnotavestigeremained，notaragnorasplinter。NoranysignofFlint。Search—partiessoughthereandthereandyonder，andpresentlyacrywentup。
\"Hereheis！\"
Itwastrue。Fiftyyardsdownthegulchtheyhadfoundhim——thatis，theyhadfoundacrushedandlifelessmasswhichrepresentedhim。
FetlockJoneshurriedthitherwiththeothersandlooked。
Theinquestwasafifteen—minuteaffair。HamSandwich，foremanofthejury，handeduptheverdict，whichwasphrasedwithacertainunstudiedliterarygrace，andclosedwiththisfinding，towit:that\"deceasedcametohisdeathbyhisownactorsomeotherpersonorpersonsunknowntothisjurynotleavinganyfamilyorsimilareffectsbehindbuthiscabinwhichwasblownawayandGodhavemercyonhissoulamen。\"
Thentheimpatientjuryrejoinedthemaincrowd，forthestorm—centerofinterestwasthere——SherlockHolmes。Theminersstoodsilentandreverentinahalf—circle，inclosingalargevacantspacewhichincludedthefrontexposureofthesiteofthelatepremises。InthisconsiderablespacetheExtraordinaryManwasmovingabout，attendedbyhisnephewwithalantern。Withatapehetookmeasurementsofthecabinsite;ofthedistancefromthewallofchaparraltotheroad;oftheheightofthechaparralbushes;alsovariousothermeasurements。Hegatheredaraghere，asplinterthere，andapinchofearthyonder，inspectedthemprofoundly，andpreservedthem。Hetookthe\"lay\"oftheplacewithapocket—compass，allowingtwosecondsformagneticvariation。